She was born in Avignon, Vaucluse, France, the oldest daughter of a poor family of fourteen children. She began singing as a small child, appearing in public at the age of four, singing in her church. As a young girl she worked in a factory, where she saved her money to pay for singing lessons.
Discovered by Johnny Stark, manager of France's biggest star at the time, Johnny Hallyday, she was tutored by orchestra leader Paul Mauriat and song writer André Pascal who wrote "Mon crédo", "Viens dans ma rue", "La première étoile" and many other hits for her . After her television performance in 1965 and debut run at the Paris Olympia, she was immediately hailed as the next Édith Piaf, such was her haunting voice.
Singles such as "Mon Credo" and "C'est Ton Nom" made her a huge star in France and all over Europe while making her a big success in North America and Mexico. Her French cover of Engelbert Humperdinck's "The Last Waltz" generated much publicity in Great Britain and with hit after hit, she soon toured Canada and the United States where she appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Danny Kaye Show. In Las Vegas, she sang with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra to great applause.
Still much in demand, she continues to perform regularly. She travels frequently, appearing at such venues as New York City's Carnegie Hall, Sport Palace in Montreal, Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and Ice Palace of St. Petersburg. She has sold about 150 million copies of her albums in her 40 year career, recorded about 1200 songs in 9 languages, and was the first western singer in history who gave concerts in China. Over the years she sang duets with such luminaries as Charles Aznavour, Barry Manilow, Paul Anka, Plácido Domingo, Julio Iglesias, Tom Jones and others.
Songs such as "Acropolis adieu," "Ne me quitte pas," and "Santa Maria de la mer," are considered classics. Her French version of Roy Orbison's ballad, "Blue Bayou", is regarded by many as one of the best covers of that popular song.
In 1989, President François Mitterrand invited Mireille Mathieu to sing a tribute to General de Gaulle. She gave a series of concerts at the Palais des Congrès in Paris in December 1990. Three years later, she released an album devoted to her all-time idol, Édith Piaf.
In January 1996, "Vous lui direz…" was released. Maxime le Forestier wrote one of the titles, "A la moitié de la distance". She did not choose to perform live in France to promote the album, preferring rather to go to Los Angeles USA, where she triumphed on November 14th with her vibrant tribute to another of her idols, Judy Garland. The performance was a tremendous success she was dressed by Provence couturier, Christian Lacroix and looked stunning for the performance. [1]
In 2002, she released her 37th French album De tes mains. Mathieu celebrated the 40th anniversary of her career at the Paris Olympia, in November 2005, after releasing her 38th French album, which reached number 14 on the charts in France (it remained in the top 100 for several months).
La foule
Mireille Mathieu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Suffoquant sous le soleil et sous la joie
Et j´entends dans la musique les cris, les rires
Qui éclatent et rebondissent autour de moi
Et perdue parmi ces gens qui me bousculent
Étourdie, désemparée, je reste là
Quand soudain, je me retourne, il se recule,
Et la foule vient me jeter entre ses bras.
Emportés par la foule qui nous traîne
Nous entraîne
Écrasés l´un contre l´autre
Nous ne formons qu´un seul corps
Et le flot sans effort
Nous pousse, enchaînés l´un et l´autre
Et nous laisse tous deux
Épanouis, enivrés et heureux.
Entraînés par la foule qui s´élance
Et qui danse
Une folle farandole
Nos deux mains restent soudées
Et parfois soulevés
Nos deux corps enlacés s´envolent
Et retombent tous deux
Épanouis, enivrés et heureux.
Et la joie éclaboussée par son sourire
Me transperce et rejaillit au fond de moi
Mais soudain je pousse un cri parmi les rires
Quand la foule vient l´arracher d´entre mes bras.
Emportés par la foule qui nous traîne
Nous entraîne
Nous éloigne l´un de l´autre
Je lutte et je me débats
Mais le son de sa voix
S´étouffe dans les rires des autres
Et je crie de douleur, de fureur et de rage
Et je pleure.
Entraînée par la foule qui s´élance
Et qui danse
Une folle farandole
Je suis emportée au loin
Et je crispe mes poings, maudissant la foule qui me vole
L´homme qu´elle m´avait donné
Et que je n´ai jamais retrouvé.
The song "La foule" by Mireille Mathieu is a depiction of a crowded and lively city during a festival. The singer is reliving a moment in time when she found herself lost and disoriented in the midst of a chaotic crowd. She hears the sound of music, laughter, and shouts, which intensify her feelings of confusion. Suddenly, a man catches her attention, and as she turns towards him, he steps back, allowing the crowd to push her towards his embrace. The two then become lost in each other as the throng carries them away, leading to an intimate and joyous moment where they are no longer two individuals but one shared entity. However, their happiness is short-lived, and as the crowd separates the couple, the singer is left bereft, crying out in agony over the loss of the man who was taken away from her so suddenly.
The lyrics are incredibly poignant and capture the beauty and chaos of a city during a festival. They also speak of the fleeting nature and unpredictability of life, where moments of extreme joy and pleasure can be abruptly taken away by the uncontrollable forces of the world. Nevertheless, despite the cruelty of the world, the song seems to suggest that moments of togetherness and shared intimacy can still be cherished and celebrated.
Line by Line Meaning
Je revois la ville en fête et en délire
I see the city once more in celebration and delirium
Suffoquant sous le soleil et sous la joie
Choking under the sunlight and the joy
Et j´entends dans la musique les cris, les rires
And I hear in the music the cries, the laughter
Qui éclatent et rebondissent autour de moi
That burst and rebound around me
Et perdue parmi ces gens qui me bousculent
And lost among these people who jostle me
Étourdie, désemparée, je reste là
Dizzy, disoriented, I stay there
Quand soudain, je me retourne, il se recule,
When suddenly, I turn around, he steps back,
Et la foule vient me jeter entre ses bras.
And the crowd throws me into his arms.
Emportés par la foule qui nous traîne
Carried away by the crowd that drags us
Nous entraîne
It brings us along
Écrasés l´un contre l´autre
Crushed against each other
Nous ne formons qu´un seul corps
We form only one body
Et le flot sans effort
And the flow effortlessly
Nous pousse, enchaînés l´un et l´autre
Pushes us, linked to each other
Et nous laisse tous deux
And leaves us both
Épanouis, enivrés et heureux.
Elated, intoxicated and happy.
Entraînés par la foule qui s´élance
Drawn in by the crowd that rushes forward
Et qui danse
And dances
Une folle farandole
A wild round dance
Nos deux mains restent soudées
Our two hands remain clasped
Et parfois soulevés
And sometimes lifted
Nos deux corps enlacés s´envolent
Our two bodies, entwined, take flight
Et retombent tous deux
And both fall back down
Épanouis, enivrés et heureux.
Elated, intoxicated and happy.
Et la joie éclaboussée par son sourire
And the joy splashed by his smile
Me transperce et rejaillit au fond de moi
Penetrates me and springs back deep within me
Mais soudain je pousse un cri parmi les rires
But suddenly I let out a cry among the laughs
Quand la foule vient l´arracher d´entre mes bras.
When the crowd comes to tear him away from my arms.
Nous éloigne l´un de l´autre
It separates us from each other
Je lutte et je me débats
I struggle and fight
Mais le son de sa voix
But the sound of his voice
S´étouffe dans les rires des autres
Gets drowned out in the laughter of others
Et je crie de douleur, de fureur et de rage
And I scream with pain, fury and rage
Et je pleure.
And I cry.
Je suis emportée au loin
I am carried away far
Et je crispe mes poings, maudissant la foule qui me vole
And I clench my fists, cursing the crowd that steals him from me
L´homme qu´elle m´avait donné
The man that it had given me
Et que je n´ai jamais retrouvé.
And that I have never found again.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANGEL CABRAL, ENRIQUE DIZEO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fella Chery
L'une des grandes vedettes françaises, moi, j'aime beaucoup Mireille Mathieu.
Claudine Pittilloni
Quelle belle voix Mireille !
Carlos Eduardo De Campos
J'adore cette musique! C'est très forte! Merci.
erwin rommel
edith piaf inimitable !!
Omer Naranjo
OUI, c'est vrai. mais cette chanteuse est bonne aussi.elle a bonne voix pour cette chanson.
zjanaz
This is definitely a rereading, where only the arrangements change but the melody remains.
A Myziam
cette chanteuse est la seule qui a si bien chanté cette chanson
Генадий Стрелевский
НАША МАШШШШШШКАААА... ...
Rey Venegas
Ces t la Vie
Thierry Genoud
Il devrait y avoir des lois pour empêcher de tels massacres...